Bill O’Reilly not bothered Gen. David Petraeus gave classified information to his mistress

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was off on Friday, but the names being floated for positions in President-Elect Donald Trump’s cabinet were too important for him. In a phone call to the show, O’Reilly was dismissive of the idea that Gen. David Petraeus did anything wrong by sharing classified information.

“I think Petraeus would be a pretty good Secretary of Defense,” O’Reilly said over the phone. “I know he got in trouble back there given the classified information to the girlfriend, but David Petraeus is a brilliant military mind. Brilliant.”

He went on to say that he doesn’t know anyone better to run the department.

In an April 22, 2016 episode of the “O’Reilly Factor,” the host interviewed former Barack Obama campaign foreign policy advisor David Tafuri.

“General Petraeus admitted on tape to Paula Broadwell that he knew he was passing along classified information,” Tafuri told O’Reilly, attempting to explain the difference between Hillary Clinton and Gen. Petraeus. “Hillary Clinton, in contrast, says she did not know she was emailing with classified information. Look at the prosecution of Sandy Berger, also different. A very significant aggravating factor. He took classified documents.”

“He put papers down his pants,” O’Reilly said.

“Yes, down his pants,” Tafuri clarified.

“So, that’s not even close,” O’Reilly said.

It’s unclear if O’Reilly’s comparison between the two by saying “not even close,” means that Gen. Petraeus was worse than Clinton’s email scandal.

O’Reilly also noted that the fact that Trump will meet with former foe Mitt Romney shows, “he’s not a vindictive man.”